It’s been 4 years since the 2006 NFL Draft and those selected have had time to make an impact on their respective teams. In this new series of articles the writers at NFLMocks will be breaking down each team division by division and grading their drafts. We will identify the top busts and the biggest sleepers and would love to hear your thoughts and opinions in the comment section of each post.

AFC East

New England PatriotsGrade: D+

Every year when you watch the NFL Draft you always hear about how well the Patriots draft and that Coach Bill Belichick is a genius. I guess those analysts weren’t looking at the results of the 2006 Draft. The Patriots used their 1st round selection to pick running back Laurence Maroney. Maroney had a decent rookie year and had everyone expecting big things out of him but he has yet to really breakout. Maroney has spent most of this NFL career sharing carries and fighting injuries. He will again spend this upcoming season fighting for carries. 12 receptions! 12 receptions are all the Patriots got out of 2nd round pick Chad Jackson. I can still remember when the Patriots selected Jackson and everyone thought it was a great pick and potentially a steal. However, Jackson never pulled it together and is now fighting for a roster spot on the Buffalo Bills. The Pats did better with their later picks but only one of those players remain on the team. The remaining player is kicker Stephen Gostkowski who is arguably one of the better kickers in the league. The other selections were Dave Thomas and Ryan O’Callaghan. Thomas was traded to the Saints for a 6th round pick and had some decent success in a backup role. New England released O’Callaghan and he was picked up by the Chiefs and he is expected to start at right tackle. So this draft produced a time share running back and a kicker, not a very impactful draft.

New York JetsGrade: A

The Jets 2006 Draft is full of hits and misses but the hits outweigh the misses. They used their two 1st round picks to solidify their offensive line. They selected D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold both of whom started every game since entering the NFL. Ferguson was named to the 2009 Pro Bowl and Mangold was selected for the Pro Bowl in 2008 and 2009 and added a 2009 All Pro selection. These two players are major contributors to the power running game that lead the Jets deep in the playoffs last season. The Jets add Top Sleeper Candidate Leon Washington and all purpose player Brad Smith in the 4th round. Washington was selected to the 2008 All Pro team but suffered a major leg injury and was then traded to the Seattle Seahawks for a 5th round pick. While Washington has moved on you can’t overlook his contributions in 2008. Brad Smith contributes on special teams and has several specific offensive packages devoted to him. The biggest miss for the Jets was 2nd round pick Kellen Clemens, the quarterback out of Oregon. A lot was expected out of Clemens but he never developed into a NFL quarterback despite being give several opportunities. The Jets 3rd round pick Anthony Schelgel is now on the UFL’s Florida Tuskers, while fellow 3rd round pick Eric Smith remains with the team in a reserve role. This was a good draft for the Jets because they were able to get two pieces to their offensive line puzzle. The contributions from reserve players Brad and Eric Smith are very valuable. And if not for the injury to Leon Washington we would be looking at possibly the best draft in the league.

Miami DolphinsGrade: F

I think if the Dolphins had a mulligan they would use it on their 2006 Draft. Of the seven picks only one player is expected to see playing time for the Dolphins this season. That player is 1st round pick Jason Allen and while he is expected to get playing time, he isn’t expected to make much of an impact. Allen is arguably one of the bigger busts of the 2006 Draft. He has spent time bouncing back and forth from Safety and Corner but mainly in reserve roles. The only other name you might recognize is 7th round pick Devon Aromashodu who is fighting for a starting spot with the Chicago Bears.

Buffalo BillsGrade: D

To properly evaluate the Bills draft you have to look at it backwards. 5th round pick Kyle Williams has been the most consistent and productive player from this draft class. Fellow 5th round pick Brad Butler was expected to start somewhere along the offensive line but suddenly retired this offseason. Let’s go back to the top of the draft. The Bills used the 8th overall pick to select Safety Donte Whitner who only has 4 career interceptions and has battled injuries and lofty draft expectations. Whitner will find himself fighting for playing time this season. The Bills used their other 1st round pick on defensive tackle John McCargo who is buried deep on the depth chart and will likely not make the final roster. At the time of the draft the Bills were hammered for selecting both players and it seems like the analysts were correct. The late round selections of Ko Simpson, Kyle Williams, Brad Butler, and Keith Ellison keep this draft from being a total wash.

I had hopes for Aromashodu because of his Auburn ties. I remember thinking Hagan wouldn't translate into a real starter but at least he had solid hands (oops) since he had so many receptions in college. The rest of those guys are a bunch of whatever. I remember thinking Rod Wright was a steal in the 7th even if he did need a lot of work. As far as the guys we drafted I think I was pretty close to right.

It's the other relevant guys where I missed like crazy. I loved giving up a 2nd for Daunte Culpepper even over Drew Brees (take the qb with a bad knee over the qb with a bad arm). Also, at the time Culpepper had the vastly better season. OBviously I was mistaken there.

I also liked picking up Marcus Vick. He didn't cost us anything but was still a poor investment.

edit: we spent the 5th on Manuel Wright in the previous supplemental draft. I thought he had potential to eventually be useful. Instead, Nick Saban made him cry.

_________________Thanks for making the sig PZ.

Last edited by Gentlax13 on Tue Jun 22, 2010 9:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Tue Jun 22, 2010 9:34 pm

Iowafin

Phinfever Legend

Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2010 2:55 pmPosts: 5439

Re: NFL MOCKS: Reviewing the 2006 NFL Draft: AFC East

Gentlax13 wrote:

I remember thinking Hagan wouldn't translate into a real starter but at least he had solid hands (oops) since he had so many receptions in college.

I was super upset with that pick. He had/has terrible hands...all his catches were straight to his stomach/chest...his hands were bricks, and it was extremely evident in the senior bowl where he had something like 4 dropped passes.

Just another instance where stats are misleading.

_________________

Tue Jun 22, 2010 9:36 pm

Big Dave

Phinfever Owner/Admin

Joined: Tue Jan 12, 2010 9:41 amPosts: 9748Location: Raleigh, NC

Re: NFL MOCKS: Reviewing the 2006 NFL Draft: AFC East

I thought Rodrique Wright was going to be a steal for us since he fell due to shoulder problems. He was projected to be a late 1st round pick before teams found out about his problem. That was a disappointment.

I actually thought it was a good draft at the time. Saban had a good first draft the year before adn it was his second year out of college ... who would have thought he couldn't evaluate the talent in that draft.